El Tapeo — Restaurant in Mexico City

Bland, simple, average quality at best.

I really wanted to like this place. I had dreams of the tapas I ate in Spain, and all the textures, flavors and tradition built into the experience. Unfortunately El Tapeo just fell flat. I feel like every single bite I took could have used a little dash of salt and white pepper just to give it something… anything.

We had eight or nine different menu items and not even once, didn’t get I that eye popping, “Oh damn, that’s delicious!” Moment i was hoping for. The bread used under each canapé was plain and of cheap quality.

The goat cheese seemed like goat cheese but had no bite to the flavor. I didn’t know they even made such bland goat cheese.

The “Fast-cured sausage” was two little logs of the same cheap salchicha you get at the Mercado, just plopped next to each other on a piece of bread with bland cheese melted over the top for $90 pesos. They didn’t even cut in a unique way to enhance the mouth feel.

The anchovy with avocado and peppers was literally just that: an average quality canned anchovy, a little slice of avocado, and two slivers of red bell pepper on a under-toasted oval of white sandwich bread. No seasoning, no quality no creativity, no originality, no pride in the art. Oh, and they only delivered one piece instead of the two described in the menu.

The list goes on.

I can’t say it was bad, but it was absolutely not enjoyable. And it was overpriced.

Servers only came around when dropping food, or if you flagged them down.

When we left, I was bummed that my belly was already full, because the tortas from the vendor on the street around the corner looked way tastier than anything I had eaten at my...

A wonderful place to feel like your Spanish abuello Enrique and Mexican abuella Estella had you over for dinner. A perfect hideout down a Juárez alley. Wasn't super busy and was seated promptly. Definitely a steady stream of dinners over the evening.

I ordered: Duck confi with lettuce on toast (daily special) Stuffed mushrooms w/ shrimp on toast Pork tenderloin /asparagus on toast Shrimp in a (not spicy) chili sauce Hanger steak on toast Papa's bravas Calamari

Leche Frita for dessert.

The duck lettuce toast and stuff mushroom/shrimp were my favorite. I listed dishes in order of favorite. Everything was delicious and I wanted to try more but was very full. Last two Calamari and bravas potatoes are standard tapas. The Calamari was a little under seasoned but still good.

Leche frita was an interesting dessert. Deep fried with a scoop of ice cream on the side.

One of the best meals I had in CDMX. Have to go back to try all the other tapas. Cost for one person who ordered a lot of food and 2 beers $1100 peso $62...

Food = great. Waiter tells patrons when they arrive that the restaurant is closing soon, when it isn’t. We arrived a little after 7, he told us the restaurant closed at 8 so we hurried as quickly as possible. While we were eating, we heard him tell 3 additional tables upon arrival that the restaurant closed at 9, so they did the same thing. Sign on door said restaurant closed at 10pm. This was such an off-putting experience once we realized what was going on—and we would have ordered so much more food if we weren’t pushed out! I especially felt bad for the table next to us with children that thought they only had 30 min to order and leave. I passive aggressively asked the server if they closed at 8 or 9 and he laughed. While the food here is great, if you want a real tapas experience, you want to sit for a bit and enjoy— not be warned that the restaurant is fake closing in an hour, etc. Be...